2014 started off with seeing Moderat in the Albert Hall in Manchester.
Following this I saw CHVRCHES for the first time, performing their 2013 album 'The Bones of What You Believe' to a sold out crowd at Leeds Student Union.
In May I saw Sonny Fodera at Avichi White. Despite having only a few people to perform to, he played like the room was full, and my friends and I had a great night dancing next to the decks.
On the 7th and 8th of June I attended Manchester's music festival 'Parklife'. Although I greatly missed out on the camping part of a typical festival weekend, the music was a complete hit. Highlights included Daniel Avery, Jon Hopkins and of course Moderat, whose visuals were all on a completely different level to the better funded artists that headlined the festival.
In August I saw Groove Armada at Tobacco Dock, London.
A week later I saw Tycho in Gorilla in Manchester. Their show was truly dreamlike and mellow, but perfectly entertaining.
In September I saw Tessela and Elliphino at the newly branded and revived Joshua Brooks club in Manchester.
In October I kicked off The Warehouse Project season with Ape VS Ram Jam for my friends birthday. However, I am not a huge drum and bass fan, so I don't mark this particular WHP highly.
However, on Halloween I saw Caribou & Four Tet at the WHP and their performances of the new album 'Our Love' were fantastic. Despite the great set from Caribou, I was actually really impressed by Jessy Lanza. I hadn't seen her before, but her song 'Keep Moving' was great!
However, without a doubt, the most impressive live show I have seen this year was KATE BOY. On November 6th I arrived at Soup Kitchen, in Manchester's up and coming area, Northern Quarter. I will be doing a full review of the night so won't say too much, but I was blown away by the potential of the band and their clear talent.
In November I saw James Blake at the WHP, whose dreamlike music was surreal to experience in such a large venue with the added affect of the lights and visuals.
The following week I attended the Bugged Out WHP, with George Fitzgerald, Daniel Avery and Erol Alkan. A whole night of techno went down very well with the crowd, my only criticism would be that Daniel Avery had just come from a set in Leeds, so his set at 3:00am started off quite slowly and took a while to pick up.
I did plan on seeing Bonobo in November, but sadly I was too ill to go.
I finished off the Warehouse Project calendar with Jamie XX and Jon Hopkins in December. Without a doubt this was the best WHP I have ever been too, and again the visuals from Jon Hopkins were unmatchable. The night started with John Talabot and finished with Modeselektor, it was one hell of a night and a great way to end the year.
Last but my no means least, I saw Bombay Bicycle Club at Manchester's O2 Apollo, just before returning to London for Christmas. I have seen BBC half a dozen times, but this night stood out hugely. This was the first time I have seen BBC with such good visuals and lighting. Their new album 'So Long See You Tomorrow' is one of my favourites, and 'Carry Me' and 'Home By Now' were extremely well executed, with the added effects of a glitter cannon and room full of falling ribbons. A few days later I saw them perform at XOLO, for a DJ Set. It was a great night, with a real mix of indie rock, r&b and 90's pop. Though it is safe to say they were all pretty pissed.
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